It was going to be a great day for Barbara. Her editor had finally given her the story she had been waiting for. Sure she had been running errands, making coffee, and doing the filing for the last six months, and sure all of the other reporters were out sick due to food poisoning. Her editor said it had to be due to bad coffee. Any way, Barbara was the only reporter for this story.

Professor Duellman was a noted herpetologist, famous in Brisbane for his genetic work on cane toads. He was also the local loon. So when the good professor disappeared her editor felt it would be a good story for Barbara to do.

As Barbara stepped outside the newspaper building it started to rain, and Barbara remembered that she hade left her umbrella at home. Running to the curb to hail a taxi, Barbara broke a heel. Limping forward, a taxi came swishing down the street and hit a huge puddle splashing Barbara from heat to foot. Yes, it was going to be a great day!

It was a drenched and bedraggled Barbara that got out of the fifth taxi she had hailed in front of Professor Duellman’s building. Naturally the building was locked. No problem there. Nothing was going to keep Barbara from her story.

Walking to the side of the building Barbara spied the fire escape. Unfortunately it was just a little out of reach. Looking around the alley provided no help in finding a way to reach the fire escape. So taking her purse, Barbara swung it up and around the lowest rung of the fire escape and pulled.

At first she got nowhere with all her tugging, until squealing with protest the ladder came loose knocking Barbara flat on her back and almost crushing her in the process. Shakily Barbara got up and dusted off her backside. Her hand came away with a wad of gum stuck to her skirt.

‘Just great,’ she thought, ‘what’s next?’

Climbing up a fire escape in a skirt proved to be rather difficult. Knowing the skirt was already ruined, Barbara ripped a slit in it so she could climb the ladder. The professors’ lab was on the third floor of the building so it was a long climb.

The lab was dark and it was hard to see inside through the window. Leaning into the window Barbara thought she could see something yellow on a counter. This was also the time that the window opened on its own and dumped Barbara into the room.

Barbara got up and looked around. The place was a mess. It looked like a bull in a china shop had been through the place. Globs of green stuff were splattered on the walls and floor. The only thing that seemed normal in the room was the banana, which was the yellow thing Barbara had seen through the window. Unconsciously she picked up the piece of fruit and put it in her purse.

Later at her desk, and after a quick stop back home to change clothes, Barbara was stymied on how to start to write the story on Professor Duellman. This was also about the time her stomach started to remind her that not only had she missed breakfast but lunch as well. Remembering the banana in her purse, Barbara dug the piece of fruit out and was quickly munching away. At first Barbara thought the banana may have been rotten, but the more she ate the better it tasted.

Not long after finishing the fruit everything seemed to fall into place. Barbara was able to link Professor Duellman with a new super-villain calling himself Professor Cane Toad. After that the story practically wrote itself, and her editor loved it, and wanted more.

So Barbara kept at it, chasing Professor Cane Toad all across Australia, first from Brisbane and the to Hobart in Tasmania. At first she couldn’t believe her luck, until she was set upon by three of Professor Cane Toads mutates. None of them laid a hand on her. The first go hit by a runaway fruit truck hauling bananas, the second fell down and was knocked out after slipping on the fruit. As for the third, Barbara was never quite sure. It was almost like he just disappeared.

That day, Barbara realized how dangerous it would be for her to track Professor Cane Toad. Soon she knew the criminal would start hunting her; she needed to come up with a better idea. Looking at all the bananas strewn on the street, Barbara was struck with an idea. Why couldn’t she take on a costumed identity? In that way, Professor Cane Toad couldn’t attack her directly because he wouldn’t know about Barbara, and a costumed identity would distract him. But what to call herself? Again her thoughts strayed to the bananas. Then it came to her, Banana Woman. Yes it would be perfect. She’d get the greatest story, and her real life would be safe. No need to tell her editor as he wouldn’t probably like the idea of Barbara putting herself at such a risk.

Personality

Barbara has always had a keen sense for adventure. Now that she has super powers (she still isn’t sure how she got them), her chance for adventure has increased dramatically. Barbara is having the time of her life as a costumed super-heroine.

Barbara is also a reporter, with a reporters’ nose for news. Her focus is the uberhuman community, and her stories are mostly about super-heroes and super-villains. So far her stories have been confined to Australia Squad and don’t run to sensationalism like the stories in Uber-World Today or the more fan based Capes.

Quote

"Boy what a lucky break."

Powers

Barbara isn’t sure exactly how she gained her powers over probability, and isn’t spending much time thinking about it either. Things just seem to happen around her. For Barbara these occupancies are usually lucky for her, and not so lucky for those opposing her. Foes have been ran over by runaway trucks, had masonry drop on them out of the blue, and bananas are usually involved in some way. Also others using guns, and even powered armor have found their equipment not working when faced with Banana Woman. Most super-villains give up or go away when fighting against Barbara.

Barbara knows not to trust her luck too much. So recently she has had Black Swan redesign her costume out of a high tech light-weight material that acts just like body armor. Naturally being a reporter Barbara always has her trusty camera handy. Many a super-villain has found an embarrassing picture of themselves in the newspaper after they’ve slipped on a banana peel.

Appearance

Barbara, as Banana Woman, wears a skintight blue body stocking. Her costume covers her entire body, except for the lower half of her face. In addition, she wears yellow leather boots, gloves, and belt. Over her back, Barbara wears a yellow cloak that flares out like two halves of a banana. Her mask is also is yellow and is vaguely "V" shaped.

Outside of her Banana Woman guise, Barbara wears clothing that is typical of a newspaper reporter. Her clothing isn't too expensive, but it isn't cheap either.